Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Boosts Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,090 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pool by 1.6% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,102,921 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $646,291,000 after purchasing an additional 33,955 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in shares of Pool by 1.3% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 854,709 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $262,678,000 after purchasing an additional 11,059 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Pool by 9.6% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 525,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,839,000 after buying an additional 45,953 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Pool by 26.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 433,166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $133,125,000 after buying an additional 90,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pool by 9.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 430,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $132,244,000 after buying an additional 37,598 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on POOL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $305.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Pool from $338.00 to $290.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Pool from $305.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pool presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $354.44.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of POOL opened at $365.28 on Monday. Pool Co. has a 1 year low of $293.51 and a 1 year high of $422.73. The company has a market cap of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 2.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $356.39 and a 200-day moving average of $355.07.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The specialty retailer reported $4.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.90 by $0.09. Pool had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 32.85%. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 10.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.56%.

Pool Profile

Pool Corporation distributes swimming pool supplies, equipment, and related leisure products in the United States and internationally. The company offers maintenance products, including chemicals, supplies, and pool accessories; repair and replacement parts for pool equipment, such as cleaners, filters, heaters, pumps, and lights; and building materials, such as concrete, plumbing and electrical components, functional and decorative pool surfaces, decking materials, tiles, hardscapes, and natural stones for pool installations and remodeling.